Diocese: Don't release abuse files
Joliet, Illinois --
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet is once again asking a court to bar the release of documents that could shed light on how church officials responded to allegations of clergy sexual abuse.
The diocese is asking a DuPage County judge to issue a protective order that would shield the personnel file of former priest and convicted sex offender Ed Stefanich from public view. Judge Stephen Culliton is expected to rule on the request Monday.
The diocese is arguing that failure to obtain a protective order would dissuade other victims of clergy sexual abuse from coming forward, and that the privacy of others would be violated.
"The absence of a protective order could have (a) chilling effect and discourage parishioners from logging complaints or writing to the bishop regarding a variety of sensitive issues," diocese attorney James Byrne wrote in a motion.
Attorneys for a man reportedly abused by Stefanich want the judge to deny the protective order. They say they've proposed releasing the priest's file with the names of reported victims and others blacked out, but the diocese rejected that offer.
A Glen Ellyn man in his 40s filed the suit in late 2003. The man is identified as John Doe in the lawsuit and has told The Herald News in Joliet he does not want his name released in order to protect the privacy of his four children.
He alleges that Stefanich sexually molested him in the late 1960s and early 1970s while at Christ the King Church in Lombard.
Stefanich was arrested in 1987 and later pleaded guilty to criminal sexual abuse of a Woodridge girl beginning when she was 14. Joliet Bishop Joseph Imesch later asked the Vatican to remove Stefanich from the priesthood.
Read the article at suburbanchicagonews.com Dated August 4, 2005
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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet is once again asking a court to bar the release of documents that could shed light on how church officials responded to allegations of clergy sexual abuse.
The diocese is asking a DuPage County judge to issue a protective order that would shield the personnel file of former priest and convicted sex offender Ed Stefanich from public view. Judge Stephen Culliton is expected to rule on the request Monday.
The diocese is arguing that failure to obtain a protective order would dissuade other victims of clergy sexual abuse from coming forward, and that the privacy of others would be violated.
"The absence of a protective order could have (a) chilling effect and discourage parishioners from logging complaints or writing to the bishop regarding a variety of sensitive issues," diocese attorney James Byrne wrote in a motion.
Attorneys for a man reportedly abused by Stefanich want the judge to deny the protective order. They say they've proposed releasing the priest's file with the names of reported victims and others blacked out, but the diocese rejected that offer.
A Glen Ellyn man in his 40s filed the suit in late 2003. The man is identified as John Doe in the lawsuit and has told The Herald News in Joliet he does not want his name released in order to protect the privacy of his four children.
He alleges that Stefanich sexually molested him in the late 1960s and early 1970s while at Christ the King Church in Lombard.
Stefanich was arrested in 1987 and later pleaded guilty to criminal sexual abuse of a Woodridge girl beginning when she was 14. Joliet Bishop Joseph Imesch later asked the Vatican to remove Stefanich from the priesthood.
Read the article at suburbanchicagonews.com Dated August 4, 2005
posted by God Almighty Himself at 2:57 PM
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